{"id":89864,"date":"2018-10-08T07:32:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T14:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=89864"},"modified":"2018-10-08T07:34:25","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T14:34:25","slug":"interpol-chief-resigns-held-in-china-policies-impacted-macau-casinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/interpol-chief-resigns-held-in-china-policies-impacted-macau-casinos\/","title":{"rendered":"Interpol Chief Goes AWOL in China and Resigns: Spearheaded \u2018Corruption Crackdown,\u2019 Hit Macau Casino Sector Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"

President of Interpol Meng Hongwei has been arrested in China as part of an \u201canticorruption investigation,\u201d authorities in Beijing said Monday. The international crime-fighting agency said on Sunday that it had received his resignation “with immediate effect.” It is unclear where Meng is being detained.<\/p>\n

\"Meng
Meng Hongwei resigned as president of Interpol on Monday, according to the international law enforcement agency. His wife said he sent her a knife emoji shortly after landing in China, signifying danger. (Image: Roslan Rahman\/AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meng was previously China\u2019s vice minister of public security, who spearheaded President Xi Jinping\u2019s far-reaching anticorruption drive<\/a> that sent Macau\u2019s casino sector into a two-year tailspin.<\/p>\n

\n

Beginning in 2014, the crackdown turned to Macau. Beijing tightened controls on the movement of money into the enclave and squeezed the junket industry that facilitated trips from the mainland for Chinese VIPs, some of whom were suspected corrupt party officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Macau relied on the VIP segment, and Beijing\u2019s policies — pursued and exacted by Meng — triggered a two-year\u00a0revenue slump in the world\u2019s biggest gambling hub.<\/p>\n

Mystery Disappearance<\/h2>\n

Meng was reported missing by his wife Grace last month, sparking a French police investigation. On September 20, Meng left Interpol headquarters in Lyon in France and traveled to China via Stockholm, arriving on September 25.<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, he disappeared. Grace Meng told police her husband sent her a knife emoji message on the day he went missing, which she interpreted to mean he was in danger.<\/p>\n

Responding to a request from Interpol to clarify the status of its president, the Chinese government said on Sunday that Meng was \u201cunder the monitoring and investigation\u201d of its new anti-corruption unit, the National Supervision Commission.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Head of Public Security Ministry Zhao Kezhi elaborated:<\/p>\n

The investigation into Meng Hongwei\u2019s activities including taking bribes and other illegal acts \u2026 fully demonstrates the clear attitude and firm determination of the Party Central Committee, with Xi Jinping at its core, to strictly manage the party and carry out the anti-corruption struggle to the end,\u201d<\/strong> he said.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Zhao added that Meng was being investigated because of his own \u201cwillfulness and for bringing trouble upon himself … [He]\u00a0insisted on taking the wrong path and had only himself to blame [for his downfall].”<\/p>\n

Interpol — which stands for International Criminal Police Organization and is a global criminal investigative agency that facilitates cooperation among law enforcement in many countries — said on Monday that it had received Meng\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

Meng\u2019s appointment as Interpol chief was a controversial one and a political coup for China, which has long sought leadership positions in international organizations to boost its global legitimacy. But there were fears that under Meng, Beijing would try to use Interpol for its own agenda: to pursue exiled dissidents.<\/strong><\/p>\n

100,000 Indicted in China<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Xi Jinping\u2019s ongoing corruption crackdown has been the\u00a0largest anti-graft campaign in China\u2019s history, with more than 100,000 people indicted<\/a> since its launch in 2012.<\/p>\n

\n

Xi has pledged to go after \u201ctigers and flies,\u201d meaning that neither high-level officials nor low-level civil servants are beyond scrutiny. But there have been accusations in Western media that the crackdown has been used as a pretext for political purges.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With little specific or independently validated information to go on, speculation is swirling that Meng\u2019s \u201ccrimes\u201d must have been grave for Beijing to sacrifice such a politically expedient appointment. Other theories suggest that he may have simply frustrated Xi’s party by refusing to allow Interpol to become an agency of the People\u2019s Republic of China, resulting in him becoming more of an impediment than an asset to Xi’s Communist Party leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President of Interpol Meng Hongwei has been arrested in China as part of an \u201canticorruption investigation,\u201d authorities in Beijing said Monday. The international crime-fighting agency said on Sunday that it had received his resignation “with immediate effect.” It is unclear where Meng is being detained. Meng was previously China\u2019s vice minister of public security, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":89865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,21,61,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterpol Chief Resigns, Held in China: Policies Impacted Macau Casinos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Missing President of Interpol Meng Hongwei resigned Sunday after Chinese authorities said he had been arrested for corruption and was being detained. 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